


just a friend

by uncledefender (unclemoriarty)



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, Karen Page Knows Matt is Daredevil, POV Karen Page, and matt knows who karen's 'Secret Friend' is, but thats ok bc i love her, frank is karen's Secret Friend, karen is a liaaaaaar, karen should not hold grudges but she does, set after the events of daredevil season 2
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-10-19
Packaged: 2018-11-11 04:01:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11140647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unclemoriarty/pseuds/uncledefender
Summary: Karen has this…friend. Really nice guy, buys her a coffee when she's feeling down, kills the people who’ve wronged her, etc. She doesn't actually know his name though.based onthis prompt





	1. Chapter 1

Karen has this…friend. Really nice guy, buys her a coffee when she's feeling down, kills the people who’ve wronged her, etc. She doesn't actually know his name though. Or that’s what she tells people. (Sans the 'killing people' part, of course.)

Sitting opposite Foggy and Matt at the diner's old booth makes her feel like she's on the stand. “I've been finding folders of the exact information I need for my articles, coffee already paid for me at my regular stop, but I have no idea who he is,” she swears. The word 'perjury' crosses her mind.

“’He’?” says Foggy. “Why ‘he’? And how does all that not freak you out just a teeny bit?"

Matt silently takes another sip of his water. Through the misty glass, Karen can see his mouth quirk at the corner. In disapproval or amusement, she can't tell. Maybe both. She doesn't care what he thinks.

“I _would_ say ‘he’ is your, uh, psychopath friend," Foggy continues, “but given that he’s not around anymore…" he trails off. Karen’s not sure if she's okay with the fact that he’s aware of her…sensitivity to the ‘memory’ of said psychopath. "Still, I wonder what kind of person would just decide to be someone's personal—what, bodyguard? assistant?"

She simply shrugs in response to his curious, searching, glance. “I guess we’ll never know, will we?"

“Will we,” Matt echoes.

Karen wonders why she told them.


	2. Chapter 2

She hasn’t spoken to him. Yet.

 _No,_ she tells herself, _not ‘yet’. Never_. It’s not happening.

 _Yet,_ her traitorous brain insists.

There wouldn’t be a way to contact him, anyway. She hasn’t seen him since…since he shut her out. Karen straightens her posture and the files on her desk, forcing herself to get back to work. Her newest article is what’s important right now. Anything else will have to wait. _He_ will have to wait. It’s only fair. He made her wait long enough for him, and he thinks he can just easily slide back into her life with free coffee? Like she said: not happening.

Pushing away that last thought of him, she picks up the notepad lying next to her laptop. Printed neatly within the page’s light blue lines is fresh information for her article in boxlike handwriting. _His_ handwriting.

She has an idea. But pushes that away, too.


	3. Chapter 3

The first time it happened, Karen was pleasantly surprised.

“Yep,” the barista yawns. “Already paid for. Here you go.”

Karen takes the cup in astonishment. “Paid for? By who?”

“Probably some secret admirer or something. Have a good day, come back soon. Next in line!”

The crisp air bites at Karen’s exposed skin as she exits the warm café. She automatically raises the hot cup to her lips and pauses for a ridiculous second as the thought that it could be poisoned crosses her mind.  Stupid, of course it isn’t. If anyone wants her dead, they’d just shoot at her again. It takes too much effort to change routine. Rolling her eyes at her fears and her lame attempt at a joke, she drinks the coffee. Doesn’t seem poisoned. In fact, it’s perfect: hot, dark, barely any cream, no foam, two packets of sugar—just the way she likes it.

She stops. Ignores the irritated muttering of the passersby maneuvering around her.

_How did they know how she takes her coffee?_


	4. Chapter 4

The third time it happened, Karen should have known.

“Seriously?” Karen shakes her head with a smile. “Again? Who keeps buying these for me?”

The barista shrugs. “There was an envelope under the counter with money and the order. That’s all I know, ma’am”.

At hearing the last word her hand falters, but she manages to grab the cup the barista is holding out. “Thanks,” is her automatic response.

Her mind is reeling as she walks out of the tiny café. This time, she doesn’t stop to think and instead walks fast, her suspicions being driven further into her brain with each thump of her boots on the wet sidewalk.

She knew it. She knew it but didn’t think she did but now she _knows_. Strange how it took just one word from a random person for her to realize exactly how all the facts fit together.

One little word, but it holds so much meaning to her.

To her, it means _him_.

**Author's Note:**

> hit me with a kudos if you like it! let me know in the comments what you think!  
> i'm thinking about continuing this, but idk...it depends on my inspiration and whether or not people like what i've written so far. so if you want to see more of this fic, let me know :)


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